Donating platelets

In My Humble Opinion
1

Has anyone done this (also known as apheresis)? I’m considering it.

In a nutshell, it’s a lot like giving blood, except that:

o You have two needles in you - one drawing the blood and one returning it.

o The process takes a couple of hours,

o Platelet donors only need to wait 3 days before they are eligible to donate again, versus 56 days for whole blood donors. However, donors cannot donate more than 24 times a year

o Not everyone can donate. You gotta have not one but two REALLY good veins. If technicians have trouble eking one pint out of you normally, you would not be a good candidate for this.

www.givelife.org has some great info on it, as does error. You can always count on Harvard for good info. :slight_smile:

Now, for me, there are a few places I can go to; you can’t just go to any old blood drive for this. I can go up to Frederick, MD, or over to Fairfax, VA. I can also go into DC itself to the Red Cross national headquarters. In any event, it’ll have to wait until March.

I read somewhere that one donation can help up to eight cancer patients, and to me a couple hours’ inconvience is worth it.

Oh, and one neat little benefit - when I donated this weekend they told me that when you donate platelets you get to pick out a movie and watch it for the duration. They even rub your shoulders a little, anything to keep you at ease (and still).

So… who’s done this? Who’s thought about it?

2

I’ve been doing this for years. One day I when I showed up for my regular blood donation they asked if I would be willing to donate platelets instead. They explained the procedure, let me use the phone to call my wife and tell her I’d be a little later than I’d expected getting home, and set me up. They were glad to get me on their apheresis donor list because my blood was free of hepatitis antibodies, which meant they could use it for newborns. Once they set me up for a directed donation, where I went in every week for four or five weeks and my platelets were sent directly to a hospital to be used for someone having bone marrow treatments.

I’ve had a few times when things went wrong; one time the technician didn’t get one of the needles placed properly and my elbow started swelling up, and another time they couldn’t get a decent vein. I’ve had to cancel out on a few scheduled visits because of illness; you can’t take aspirin or anything that might thin your blood for three days prior to donation.

A few times I’ve had single-arm apheresis; this takes a little longer because they set up the machine to alternately remove and replace the blood through a single needle. It has the advantage of leaving you with a free arm.

The place I go to usually has a pretty good selction of movies, and unless they’re really busy they usually let me stay and watch the end of the movie if it hasn’t ended by the time I’m done.

3

That’s pretty cool - they can set you up on a regular schedule? So you don’t have to keep making appointments? Very convenient.

I’d heard that too, but I wonder why you don’t have to skip aspirin etc. for regular blood donation - wouldn’t that blood need to be not-thin, too?

Thank God! I’m tired of paying for my arm. :slight_smile:

Anyway… I think I could deal with the discomfort being spread out over two arms rather than being concentrated in one.

4

I’ve also been a platelet donor for years. I’m also on the bone marrow donor registry - they signed me up for both at the same time.

I find it relatively painless. I’m not a big fan of needles, and these are big needles, so I don’t look when they’re going in.

Your blood cools down a bit while it’s being processed through the machines, so it goes back in a few degrees cooler than when it went out. This turns me into a popsicle if I’m not careful, so for me the most important part of donating platelets is being wrapped in a succession of warmed blankets. It’s nice, with the pillows under my arms and everything. However, you can’t take a nap - they have to make sure you haven’t passed out or anything.

The deal with aspirin, I believe, is that aspirin affect the clotting action of platelets.

5

Platelet donations are a breeeeze…

Sometimes, they do it through one arm instead of both (they do that with me a lot) and that’s a little uncomfortable when they return you your bloody goodies because you do feel the push. That being said, the movie, the snacks and the staff certainly make up for it.

My platelet count is right smack on the line of the maximum “normal” count, so I have plenty to give. The only catch is that they’re sticky little O platelets that clog up the line, and sometimes dislodge the needle because of it (by the end of the process - I give two units in about 70 minutes).

If you feel any discomfort, let the technicians know :slight_smile:

Other than that, sit back, enjoy, and realise that you’re saving a life or two or three. :slight_smile:

6

Oof! A dislodged needle? Then they gotta restick ya!

Incidentally, I asked how big the needle is and was told it’s the same size as the one they use to draw blood. Hm.

7

Twofold question:

Do you know who to contact re: donating in Canada?
And, are the rules of eligibility the same as for giving blood?

I’ve lived in England and so they don’t want my blood, but maybe they’ll take my platelets …

8

http://www.bloodservices.ca/centreapps/internet/uw_v502_mainengine.nsf/0/5587609C2F79E58385256ABE0058D08E?OpenDocument

This might be a good start for you. Good luck!

9

cowgirl, thanks to a strange turn of events, I happen to know that you’d want to contact Canadian Blood Services.

Here’s their website

It’s got eligibility requirements and all the info you’re looking for.

And dan, if you get a free shoulder rub out of it, I’d say GO FOR IT!

10

:: sigh ::

If I could remember how to properly code a link, I so would have beaten Dan to the punch.

:: slinks away quietly ::

11

Hee, hee! Who knew we’d both use the same link, huh?

Yeah, if I get a free shoulder rub out of it, it’s a bonus! I’m soooo tired of paying for them!

12

I donate blood at work occasionally (and should probably do it more), but this is about my son.

He was born in the 23rd week of gestation and weighed 700 grams, or about 1 1/2 lbs. Along with all the other many problems of his prematurity, he needed blood and had many transfusions. The first transfusion was only about 5 cc (or maybe it was 4), which is about one teaspoon.

The effects of his transfusions were practically immediate- he would be pale and listless, then ‘pink up’ and become more alert and physically active. It was amazing to see the change.

The blood donor was both anonymous and designated, which means that even though he received blood several times over a several of weeks, he only recieved blood from the same anonymous donor. That donor had to meet some kind special requirements because of the extreme prematurity (although I don’t know exactly what they were).

I do know that at least once the donor was contacted and asked to return to give more.

My son started kindergarten this year and, fortunately, seems to have suffered very few permanent after-effects of his prematurity. He undergoes annual developmental evaluations and has been considered ‘caught up’ for the past 2-3 years. I have not yet received this years report, but hope for more of the same.

So, thank you, anonymous doner. Perhaps you don’t know what your blood meant to us, but it was invaluable. Your teaspoons of blood made a huge difference in our lives.

13

…gah, stupid hamsters. Now to retype everything.

I’m a regular platelet and blood donor as well on a short hiatus from donating. I’ll try not to repeat too much of what other people have said.

The needles are the same size as for a blood donation. They may look bigger because you’re being hooked up to a large centrifuge rather than just a collection bag.

When the blood (sans some platelets) is returned to your arm, it is mixed with an anticoagulant saline solution, which can bind with calcium in your body. This sometimes results in a tingling around your lips and gums, which is easily fixed by chewable Tums. They’ll probably have some in stock for you.

A misplaced needle doesn’t necessarily hurt, either. The last time I donated (which is the reason I’m not eligible to donate until sometime in Feb) the return needle had apparently pricked its way through the far side of the vein before settling in its expected spot, and the constant flow of blood kept that extra hole from clotting. As a result, there was a slow but steady leak of blood into my elbow which was completely painless to me. I didn’t notice it as I was underneath a blanket, and eventually a bulge about one inch high formed around the donation site. They halted the donation when this was noticed, and since I didn’t get the red blood cells back from the blood that was being centrifuged, I became ineligible to donate for 56 days.

During the ~60-90 minutes you’re hooked up, they filter your entire blood supply twice just to get the small amount of platelets they keep. Oh, and (at least at the Mpls Red Cross donor center) this counts as two units of whole blood on your donor record, which is the primary reason I’m up to five gallons donated already.

The only downside is that my donor center doesn’t have movies for you to watch; just cable television and a remote. It’s usually the History Channel and headphones for me.

14

Thank you, everyone (lno, Ca3799, Elenfair, herownself, Lurkmeister) for your helpful responses. I guess I should contact the center now to make an appointment in March? Or should I wait? I don’t know how far in advance you can do that.

15

I’ve been giving once a month for the past year. It’s no big deal, except for the time consideration. It’s about two hours door-to-door for me. I just schedule it for Saturday mornings. And some of the newer machines can do the job with just one stick.

16

I also donate platelets (along with either red blood cells or plasma) when I go to the local blood bank. It takes longer, but I prefer it that way. Selfish reasons to donate platelets:

  1. Chances are I am getting better phlebotomists than the ones that do the blood donations on the Citivan buses. At least, that has been my experience.

  2. You get more cookies and other goodies.

  3. You’re sitting on a comfy reclining chair, your hand is resting on a good pillow, and you have a nice blanket in case you get cold.

  4. You get your own headphone and TV set, and you chose the movie you want to see. Good incentive, really… That’s how I saw Se7en and Blade II.

I’ll have to go soon… perhaps when it warms up in late Spring…

17

I regularly donate whole blood now, usually four times a year, but used to do the platelet donation thing regularly when I was younger and poorer. I had a regular weekly appointment schedule and it was a breeze.

The center I went to had the single needle system, and awesomely comfy lounge type chairs. Loved the free movies and never experienced much of a chill, but once I blacked out when they were really busy and I thought I’d be fine without my little cup of juice. Never had a problem feeling faint when donating whole blood, so I figured it wasn’t that big of a deal, right? Wrong…drink your juice! :smack:

18

Younger and poorer? Are you saying they pay you for platelets?

I’ve heard of paid donations, but I thought it was for plasma or something else. I don’t need the money, but I’d still like to know…

19

BTW, to answer myself, I found this on that Harvard page I linked to earlier:

So I’ll wait until it’s closer to the time when I can donate.

20

This is what happens when I post before coffee. :wally

Yes, you’re right, it was plasma donation that was compensated. I was referred to the collection facility originally to donate platelets, once there I found out about the pay schedule for plasma donation and did that instead. My uncaffeinated mind mixed the two up, sorry.